Cursed Island
by AnotherAppleJuice
Summary: Join Graf Zeppelin as she tries to unravel the mysteries that lie buried in island H before it's too late. - Acting as a prequel of "The world we live in", This story tells in detail the previous past events. This story will probably be rated M in the future.


Chapter 1

 _"_ _Behold, the door that appears from the blackness of the sea, the moon that shines with blood on her face; Behold, the land withers with his arrival. Even far away cities are obliterated into nothingness, nor the beast nor the man shall escape fate. All nations await the inevitable doom that lies outside, they lost all hope as death walks the earth stealing their children. Everything is meaningless, there is no place to hide, no one shall live again."_

-Bloodstained notes

The human mind is a complex labyrinth full of fake corridors and entwined roads, I think, is the evil contained within the soul, the rudder that guides the mind. We imagine that every action is made by our own free will, but our hand follows a different voice, the one that speaks in silence. The words that lie inside your brain tell secrets that only your body can understand, your own set of orders, and while you maintain your smile, your inner voice cries because you are a slave locked away behind walls of flesh.

Our own existence can be described as a dream within a dream, an illusion in which all individuals can be either a king or a pawn, mere pieces of a big game that every human understand differently. While is easy to get lost inside the infinite landscape that we call reality, it is the truth, as elusive as a distant lighthouse in the middle of a storm, the path to achieve happiness. But our choices are the key to turn this world into a precious experience in which every day feels like a blessing from a benevolent god, or instead, turn everything we know into a nightmarish scenery filled with cruel demons.

The ocean is a vast and incredible source of stories, from the very first man who was brave enough to dare to enter into sacred waters of long forgotten gods, the sea has always been the inspiration of many myths and religions, however as mankind grew and their knowledge increased, their respect and love for it slowly disappeared, to the point that most of humanity only see it as a large mass of saltwater.

"Being alive is… strange" the ash blonde woman speaks to herself as she travels at full speed "I can vaguely remember glimpses of the past, like blurred images of impotence and pain, but also of pride and joy" In her mind a set of pictures shows up many facets of her own self, mostly because after her sudden appearance in this world, all of her memories were scrambled, a mix between different points of view talking about the same things. She came to this world when she heard her name spoken once again, an outer power offered her the strength she needed in order to fight once again, to protect the country she love.

The first things she could saw were strange visions, faces of people she once knew, all people that designed her, the workers that spend their time crafting her, from the very smallest of pieces to the greatest parts of her structure. She became the spark that ignited inside a group of people and through their efforts, she came to exist, even if that was long ago, she still remembers. After she appeared in the middle of an empty chamber, she noticed so many sensations that her brain could not interpret all at once. First of all, she was not at the sea, but instead inside a bizarre looking place, a dark room filled with candles that release a sweet aroma, at that time she didn't recognize what it really was, while the floor beneath her, got inscriptions of a long forgotten language she could not comprehend, and perhaps that was for the best. She could immediately notice how her steel body changed for flesh, no longer strong and cold but soft and warm, she was no longer a carrier but a human instead. She could feel however that she was already used to her body, like she already knew how to move all of her new body parts.

As she looked around the place, she realized that she was naked, her smooth skin felt the temperature of the room. Then she recognized that instead of being a man like the person she was named after, she was born as a beautiful woman and her eyes watched below her chin and noticed her big breasts and voluptuous body that could be easily defined as perfect. All of this was a new experience, after all she remembers that she was a warship, a man made object born from their need of conquering new territories and to defend them, she was born on the second world war, and when that ended, she was taken away from home. A sudden pain appeared inside her brain, as if her own mind didn't want to recover that memory buried deep below. She was agitated, as she tried to remember her own demise, just as she realized how her own breath goes inside her lungs through her nostrils, a monotonous and shrill voice called her name.

"First of the Graf Zeppelin-class Carriers, Graf Zeppelin" the voice says "Your country needs your strength, the enemy of mankind appeared in the Pacific Ocean. In ten seconds two German girls will enter the room and help you get changed, once you are done, report to your superior to receive further instructions" the voice stops while the room is illuminated by some neon lights. A hidden door opened at the right side and a pair of ten-year-old girls enter the room, they were carrying some clothes inside a metal box. Both silent smiling girls were dressed with gray suits that appeared to be bigger than their actual size, but, as Graf took the clothes she noticed they hers are the right size, the pantyhose was harder and body-hugging on her thighs, perhaps that would highlight her legs together with a black miniskirt, she got a white and red jacket that got a cape decorated with Icovellavna as endless knots. But on top of that she was also given two things, that reminded her true self, a small anchor that she could identify as her own, attached to a red tie that contains a familiar iron cross symbol, this was especially given to her since this accessory was actually forged of her real counterpart; she also got a white navy hat particularly crafted for her, that recall her memories within the Kriegsmarine. She also got black gloves and a pair of white leather boots that complement her outfit perfectly. It took her a couple of minutes to get ready, even if she didn't understand much of this world yet. Her next order was to leave the room, but right before she left, one of the girls stopped her, her silent stare was full of shyness, mostly because she got one last accessory, and as she extended her hand she gave Graf two hair ties, and proceed to smile once again in silence, because that was all she could do as both cargo girls couldn't actually speak.

"Thank you" Graf appreciate the friendly gesture and wear them right away, she combs her hair onto thin twintails, just like both cargo girl´s hairstyle. After being ready she said goodbye to the kids and go through the door, a big and solid steel door that could only be opened from outside, only to find that she was inside some kind of laboratory. Inside the place were a lot of machines she could not recognize quickly, there were monitors, that showed thousands of numbers that continuously changed, images of strange symbols showed up once and then, while numerous people watched her in silence while she walked through the place, all salute her as a sign of respect and perhaps admiration.

She was curious of this place, all this technology was far more advanced from the one she remembers, but even if she would have liked to remain between those halls a few more minutes, someone catch her first. A soldier approached her before she could oversee any more of the base and told her how to reach the first floor, where she could meet the commander in charge of the military base. This man got a camouflaged green uniform and a large caliber combat rifle, and while these were mostly the standard for the entire world military, a symbol on top of his right arm immediately stand out, it was a blue circle with a circling set of yellow stars, a country she could not recognize at all, but it was natural that she didn't know what those flag colors meant, after all, the European Union was formed after the second world war.

The German carrier replied with a single nod and went in the direction that the soldier mentioned, only to find a big door, an elevator door but also a cargo elevator. It was then that Graf realized that she was deep below the ground, four floors below actually. When she entered the elevator and press the button to reach the first floor, she could only imagine what actually waited for her outside. She was amazed at how the technology changed in all these years, but she still had recent images inside her mind, as if she already has seen many of this new world machines, even if she can't explain why, it was like she got both human and warship memories at the same time.

It was all a mess, she followed the orders of an unknown machine, a voice that she could not recognize as human, and yet it was an order that carved into her brain and force her body to move without further questioning. Now that Graf was inside that lone cargo elevator, she got time to think, even if last for a minute, she could no longer ignore the fact that she was a ship that turned into a human being. She got the same appearance as her creators, it was like, when people say that humans got the same appearance as god, perhaps it was natural that our creations will look likely human at some point.

She could no longer remain silent and while she wanted to shout she couldn't, something inside of her head speak to her. " _It´s okay, everything is fine. You are Graf Zeppelin, a German carrier that now have a human body… don't make a scene. Remember your pride, you are what you are, remember your purpose_ " the voice inside her brain talked in a very calm and slow way, she identified that voice as her own. "What´s my purpose?" she replied to herself and waited for an answer, and the voice answer back with silent words, but those were enough for Graf. She could realize that she returned to this world for a reason and that she got to use this second chance to live and fight once again.

The elevator stopped and the door opened, it was bright. A warm light appeared, something she remembered. The sunset at the distant windows appeared to her as a glimpse of the old world she once knew, and that now returned to greet her again. Inside this floor she quickly realized that no one was around the long hall, only a wooden door stands alone, a precious place that make quite a contrast from what she saw below. At that moment the steel door of the cargo elevator closed and she was forced to walk alongside those white walls. It was halfway to the main door when she stopped and a sudden urge arose inside her mind, as she approached a large window covered with a curtain. Those seconds appeared to her as long as a full day, just because she was about to see a revelation, the answer of what that place looked like outside, the world she once saw would no longer be the same.

When she finally got next to the window, she remained silent as she saw the sea, so close in fact, that she realized that this place was a building that appeared to be a harbor, a big one. She saw a lot of people moving outside, most were soldiers, but also were people working and carrying things from one place to another using vehicles and cranes, and as it reminded her about those harbors she visited so many years before, her mind appeased and let her continue her steps with no more questions.

She knocked once on the wooden door and a voice inside replied. She went in just to find a woman in military suit standing in the middle of the room, she got medals on the right side of her chest and wearing a dark-olive green beret the same color as her uniform. The commanding officer was a gorgeous but serious woman in her mid-thirties, her name was Henriette Donitz, a proud soldier that forge her way into her actual position. She was promoted four months ago after the last general passed away, it was back then that the entire army change their structure, adapting to the new type of war. Her life wasn't exactly easy, she is the descendant of a well-known person and because of this some people disliked her, even her own family once said that it was foolish to try to enter the army. Those years in the academy were costly, and she changed, leaving behind the cute and shy girl she once was, but eventually she got her chance to prove herself, and even if that was a painful experience, she got the promotion she wanted. Eventually she married a pilot, Tom Miller, that she met almost by accident, the two found in the same place at the exact time, and because she dropped her documents. They were on the Munich International Airport, and both were dressed as common civilians, after all they both took some days off, at least Tom did have that in mind, while Henriette wanted to finish some reports. The encounter happened when both sit next to each other while waiting for the plane, in fact they both wanted were about to travel to Italy, Henriette wanted to see all museums and cultural places while Tom loved the Italian food so much that he wanted to taste the original flavor, and not only the second-hand ingredients of some restaurants.

His plane made an emergency stop on Munich because of some sudden failure, so he was forced to wait at least two hours while the airline tried to fix the problem; she arrived to the airport an hour before just to be in time. It was a mistake on her part, she left all those important papers fall to the ground when she opened her bag, but once that happened Tom helped her, perhaps he was bored to death or he could saw the beauty with no make–up behind the big glasses. He initiated the conversation hardly speaking German trying to understand what she said, but when she answered in English, he smiled and fall in love with her. Both married the next year and lived a happy life together with two kids, a dog and a cat, or at least that happened in a perfect world, yet in this one, the abyssal army appeared. Tom was a famous pilot, an ace in fact, one of the best in the entire planet, and yet he was shot down when the U.S. Air force was forced to retreat. Even now she still mourns him, but she was trying to be strong, and eventually it became easier to face the new weapons of humanity. She had received and talked with several fleet girls now, but each time she wonders how some girls can change the war balance. As the commander remains in silence as if she was admiring Graf, she was amazed that her summoning ritual was a success, even if it took some time and resources to actually make it work again.

"Welcome to the base, Graf Zeppelin. We expected your arrival from some time now. I´m Henriette Donitz, Lieutenant general of the European Union marine forces. Right now you are at our main base at New Britain" the officer introduce herself and the place they were at. They were in Rabaul, near the place where the old base used to be. They did in fact just moved to a provisional building, as the main one suffered major damage a week ago and were under repairs.

"New Britain?" The blonde heard that place before, it was supposed to be a place under the Japanese military, at least until 1944. When she came to realize that this place was a military base, even if she didn't understand the concept of _European union_ , she felt relieved, after all even if Germany lost the war, it seems that in this era they remained a powerful force.

"Yes, humanity is at war with an unknown enemy, they have conquered the pacific sea and they are trying to expand their domain, that´s why we are here as a defensive line" the officer explained their situation, as they were situated as many other bases in several islands that acted as a shield to stop the abyssal armies if they want to trespass. The whole idea of these outposts was simple, to stop the enemy in their trails. It was a containment solution, implemented after discovering that the main enemy fleet always remained somewhere in the pacific, but smaller fleets sometimes explored new routes around the ocean, trying to reach the Indian or the Atlantic Ocean. "We summoned you here with hybrid technology, our science division tried their best this time and managed to get you here after several attempts. I imagine that this era is different from the one you remember, and perhaps you have many questions, but you can save them for later, I bet he will answer them" Henriette treat this as a serious matter, she was again in front of a fleet girl, so often called _miracle girls_. She knows that the woman in front of her was supposed to be a living weapon, a warship of the second world war, even if she looks like a normal human she was _something else_ …

"Read this if you want more details" Henriette took a folder on her desk and gave it to Graf. "A short-term analysis of the war" The fleet girl finished reading the first paragraph of the files contained inside. It was a report of the last eight months.

"Even if I'm willing to know more about this, I think is not the time, right commander?" Graf knew that it could take some time to read it all, and that it may create more questions than answers.

"Indeed Carrier, there are more important things that you need to understand. First of all: your place is not here with me. You were summoned in order to fight our enemies; to do so you will be transferred immediately to the European Union naval base on the Pacific on the request of the Marshal Admiral," Henriette took out a small map and gave it to Graf, inside were the coordinates of that base and the route she will follow to reach it. "Second, we will provide you with all the armament needed to engage, you will receive a customized outfit and weapons before you leave, you can receive them on the ground floor, just follow the hallway straight ahead and you will reach it," then again she walked to her desk, took out a book and signed it, making official the transferring of Graf Zeppelin, "And third… you are a valuable asset to our army but you are still a soldier, and as one you will not receive special treatment, you will have to obey instructions," It was then that Henriette salute Graf as a sign of esteem, "Feel proud of your German lineage" she said and returned to her chair.

"Yes sir, I will do my best" Graf answered by doing the same. As she left the office she could remember the attitude of the soldiers, a bit of their words and how they follow instructions of their superiors. It was normal for them to understand all of this, they were taught all that while in the army, but she did not have that knowledge, so she could only imagine a few things with the help of distant memories inside her mind. If one joins the army, that person became a soldier, a mere pawn that will be used on the war, a number that will just add in favor of the human side, because the army with more soldiers is more likely to win, history knows this, sometimes the small army can defeat the bigger one, the weak can conquer the strong, in nature this is possible, even ants can defeat elephants, if their numbers are large enough of course. But now humans are fighting against an enemy that is strong enough to fully oppose their dominion over the Earth.

As Graf returned to the elevator, she pressed the button to the lower floor, she could have walked down the stairs, but she was not familiar with the base and perhaps she didn't want to get lost inside of it. The blonde took the folder with the file, the report that explains the situation from the beginning of the war until this day, and look at it while the elevator cracked with rusty noises, the closeness to the sea was the guilty of this rust, even if maintenance did their best to keep the place. The report was made by the Sergeant Kurt Strauss, as he analyzed all the events that took place in the past, he did this for a future reference, while he was part of the strategic division. He did a good job doing so, because he did recovered information regarding every possible detail about the encounters between humanity and the Abyssal. The article consists of several pages with descriptions, places and dates of the different assaults made by the enemy. There are also a few photographs of these places after the attacks, to show how much damage they sustained.

The carrier took a minute to read the first page, in order to realize how bad this war was, she wanted to know more of this enemy she will fight. An obvious approach by someone who is both cautious and curious, skills of her that give her an advantage above other soldiers. The war with the abyssal army began eight months ago, and while humanity showed their strength and their resilience, the new enemy proved in terrible ways why it should be feared. It all started in June 27th, a patrol ship near the coast of Hawaii sunk, no survivors were found, even if at first this event was cataloged as an accident, in which the captain of the boat was blamed for everything, it was later confirmed, with the help of some satellite images, that the ship was attacked by an unknown species of sea creatures, later to be cataloged as an abyssal I-class destroyer. The footage showed up, how the beast emerged from the depths and destroyed the ship without much effort.

A few days later another outbreak happened this time in the north coast of Japan, in which two cargo boats disappeared while traveling on their way home. This time a lone survivor was found floating around the goods the ships was carrying. Even if the man was interrogated, his testimony was discarded, as he explained that both cargo ships, were torn to pieces by monsters that devoured everyone. If only an officer believed in his words, many lives could have been saved, but humans are distrustful by nature, people started blaming their neighbors instead of searching for the real culprit. In the actual society people like to hate everything that goes against their normal behavior, this include of course, people who speaks of monsters, old gods, wicked prophecies and whatsoever not approved by science, but now most people are changing their perspective.

The ground floor was part of an old building, a tall ceiling that contained more metallic structures that she could count. The place was in fact an adapted military base, that once was a steel factory, hence the dark color and the lack of painting. It was a big place full of people working all time, they all were crafting ammunition. Thousands of bullets were made by machines, one after the other, while there were people moving large containers full of them outside, in order to supply their different bases. While she goes through the factory the workers did not recognize her, so they continued working, faster now, maybe because they think that the blonde girl was in fact a new officer sent to inspect the base. She didn't stop, and continue his walk in order to reach the end of the building, a place where more workers were doing their jobs, all were crafting different pieces from plated steel, cutting and welding, making some bizarre looking weapons.

"I was expecting you" An old bearded man was at the end of the hallway, he did in fact recognize Graf, and welcomed her. She nods right away, and while she went inside, the old man could imagine how powerful she was, in fact he was already proud of his work before she even saw it. The blonde recognized the shape of the object, it was as if she could saw her own reflection, or at least how she looked like when she was a ship, yet this time it was in pieces, her deck, even her catapult was there, but on a smaller scale, all hanging down from chains. The chief in command of the factory was Alexander Steiner, a seventy-three-year-old weapon engineer that have crafted most of the European first generation of weapons against the abyssal. He was born after the second world war was over, but he did participate in the so called, cold war. Alex, as his wife called him since they met one morning at a cafeteria on Vienna, always loved machines, specially ships and planes, he did try to enter at Porsche once, but he didn't like cars that much, so when a friend told him about a job on the army, he didn't think it twice and went for the interview. From then he lived a life behind the curtains, where he could reimagine weapons, and he did a great job indeed, even if he didn't like that people went on killing each other _"It's our nature, people hurt each other for any stupid reason and even if there was no reason at all, people still kill their own kin"_ he repeated each time someone asked why he liked his job. But right now, even if he did retire once, his skills were needed once again.

"That´s your outfit" the old man said and walked slowly next to the chains, he pulled one and the rest started to go down slowly.

"Am I really able to use this?" Graf recognized that those pieces were parts of her, like the arms and legs that were attached to her new human body. However, the outfit was especially big, a large steel armor that could easily weigh over a hundred pounds, she recognized that as a ship she was built to carry tons in material and ammunition, but right now she could not imagine how her weak and soft body could even move a single piece.

"Of course lady, just try it and you will feel it as if it was part of you… in fact it is" Alex replied, as he already built some of these artifacts before, and saw how strong the fleet girls were, at least with their outfits. It was a particular phenomenon, unexplainable by scientific means for now, as a fleet girl can lift over a ton without much effort, but only if it was part of her previous self or crafted by fairies, yes, those tiny girls that were also armament. Each time the old man tried to rationalize this whole idea of magic, spirits and supernatural stuff, his brain rejected them as he was too analytical, and yet, a miracle girl was once again about to use one of his battle armors.

"Very well I will try" Graf answered and took a step into the chains, a new feeling appears in her, it was emotion and surprise, it started when the chains started to move on their own or more exactly the pieces of the outfit. All were part of her, in all sense actually, they were dig out from the bottom of the ocean and recollected from other places, some were hard to find, but still after all these years this new pieces reacted to her new personification, resonating in a strange melody that only Graf could hear. The parts knew their own purpose, to protect her body and to be used as a weapon, this different type of outfit was a mix between an armor and a shield, one that could carry and be installed with several weapons too. It was a great design with both utility and resistance, even if the fleet girls are human in appearance, their entire existence was still a mystery. At that time Graf was enveloped by the fragmented pieces, and in an amazing show, they all started dancing slowly, moving and attaching each other all while the blonde watched in silence. The new outfit was complete now, all pieces together, only one thing remained, as the chains started to lose their grip, a single half-ring piece landed on top of Graf´s waist, remaining in its place joined to her body by some kind of magnetic force.

"Amazing, I knew you were special miss Graf. You see I worked in your outfit very much and I was convinced that it would be spectacular in battle" Alex said feeing proud of the countless hours he and his team took to develop it. While it was a really good job, he could not complete it entirely as technology got limitations, mostly because he could only do what he understood at that point.

"Thanks" Graf was happy, she felt at that moment how those pieces where warm, even if they were stainless steel mixed with other materials that improved their defensive capabilities, she imagined herself protected, safe of any kind of harm. It was a weird feeling, mostly because her outfit was light as a feather but she was controlling each part as if the armor was an extension of her body.

"I wanted to craft some of those small planes that the Japanese carriers got, but I'm still not used to that magic of yours," Alexander apologize as he didn't find a way to replicate them "And as such you will have to use guns for now, but I bet he already got planes ready for you, that genius son of a bitch" the old man explained why she got installed twins gun mounts at each side of her outfit. He laughed when he realized how that runt he once knew was now the Fleet Admiral of the European Union coalition force and probably already bested him with his research.

"I´m sorry I don't follow" Graf didn't understand what he was saying. For now, she was trying to understand and adapt to her new human form and the way she interacts with each other, and as such, she was slowly trying new words and ideas, perhaps developing her own personality by the time. In order to fight the abyssal fleet, she will need to have weapons, or so she thought, she was a carrier, so she will need planes to fight.

"Don't worry you will understand when you reach your destination, for now take this, the gun is already loaded with ammunition, in case you run into something, also you will need this propellers, you can use attach them to your boots as well," Alex already was prepared so he took a box with the last parts of her outfit, propellers that looks like her boots and could remain on her legs and feet, these will let her maneuver and ride the waves. Of course this were only usable by fleet girls, as their souls can somehow interact with the water, they can travel the surface of the sea effortless. He also took a customized weapon that was in fact an antiaircraft gun modified and reduced in scale to let her fight those pesky flying abyssal monsters. "But I think you will have no problems as you will follow a safe route, a long one, but until now no one has ever been attacked, my guess is that those monsters don't like to be shot on the face" the old man laugh knowing that this secure route was always monitored by radar, and if something unidentified approach them, they are welcomed with heavy artillery from nearby outposts. Graf took the gun and adjust the propellers, she was ready to leave that place, to finally reach the sea.

"Hey lady, the road to the harbor is right here, you can launch at this side, so don't mind the strong current, you will do fine" Alexander took a step ahead and opened the delivery door, where all the shipments where sent. A small river flowed constantly at one side of the factory, this was made in purpose in order to let the delivery faster, powered up by engines, the river was always flowing with saltwater pumped by large pipes below the ground.

"Thank you for your hard work, I appreciate it" Graf smiled at the old man. "Goodbye mister" She said and jumped into the fast flowing river. She looks back only to find the old man waving his arm.

"My name is Alexander; I hope I can see you launching planes someday" He felt alive once again, even if his bones where not the same as they were fifty years ago, he felt invigorated each time he saw that his creations are well used, this time was not an exception, as he had developed the outfit for all of the Kriegsmarine warships that had been summoned until now. He was a proud man, his job was like his children and each of them make him feel younger and useful, mostly because time his designs were used to defend humanity and not torn it apart anymore.

The blond carrier was sliding above the water with slow paced movements, as she found the perfect balance thanks to the steel ring on top of her hips. She felt the breeze of the ocean, cold and refreshing, below the old blue sky that will slowly turn orange as the night was closing in. When she finally reached the port, there were other people watching her, workers, soldiers and other ship girls she didn't got the chance to bump into, all saw how the German carrier gain speed and followed a straight line into the ocean.

It took her some minutes to get used to her new way of moving around, her propellers were good enough to let her reach high speeds, anyone that watched them could be amazed at how they can slide above the water, some people often believe that they were actually skating using an enigmatic energy that let them travel so fast. All kind of things were actually said about them, especially when people watched in action for the first time, while it mostly helps with the whole idea that they are actually incarnated warships. When Graf was forty kilometers away from the Rabaul base, she slowed down a bit and took some minutes to read the next part of the war report she was reading, if the words of the old man were true, she would have no need to worry about getting distracted.

In July 14th, a third attack happened, yet this time, the number of victims increased. The first wave started at 2300 hours, it was late and no one at the Naval Station in Pearl Harbor-Hickam imagined what was about to happen. The violent event occurred against the same unlucky place, and again was the scenery of misfortune, yet this time the United States could not retaliate and suffered a major defeat. It all happened because of fate or some uncanny and blasphemous intellect that we are incapable of comprehend, because that week, the United States Navy performed timed maneuvers, in which many of their most powerful ships were involved. It was supposed to be a big show, that would prove again that the power of the American ships was the best of the planet, and yet, eighty percent of that fleet was lost in a single night. It was stated by some witness reports, that near midnight when the first rounds were shot, and a few destroyers were critically damaged, that the base went into full alert, emergency alarms broke the peaceful silence. That night chaos reigned on the base at Pearl Harbor, as no one could distinguish who their real enemy was, the ships were not ready to fire, many of them didn't got live ammunition and the ones that did, shot their friendly ships thinking it was some kind of mutiny. By the 0400 hours of the next day most of the base defenses were neutralized and many lives were lost.

The total sum of dead and missing persons is questionable to this day, as many were engulfed by the sea to never be found again, but the approximate number increases to 64,000 men and women. It was stated that the fatalities raised because right after the assault, the city of Honolulu was also destroyed. The news burst out of control and the president of the United States share some words of regret to the nation, but the entire world also watched that day´s speech. This incident caused immediate political consequences and most people blamed the Republic of China and the Russian federation, calling the event an attack against the liberty of America, others blamed the terrorist groups of the middle east and called for a full force counterattack. The nations were about to declare war against each other and started the third world war, in which nuclear retaliation would have been the first thing to happen; if the abyssal didn't launch a series of assaults against different locations the following week, today the entire world would be submerged within the consequences of nuclear winter.

The following weeks the campaign of terror added Shanghai, Los Angeles, Vladivostok, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Valparaiso, Manzanillo and many other important towns to the list of devastated cities. One cannot imagine what this rampage could have been, as those attacks happened at different hours, but all were done with such malice as they only wanted to feast upon misery and desperation of those hundreds of thousands that fall victims. This new enemy was armed with heavy canons and torpedoes, typically used by warships, however those beasts were thought at first to be a new kind of weapon, machines made with the sole purpose of spreading destruction wherever they appear and until they were satisfied, they returned into the depths of the ocean. This is why the media started to call the mysterious fleet, the abyssal army.

As Graf read through the pages, she understood why humanity was at check, and mostly why the entire world was involved in the conflict. It was then that saw the defensive line that Henriette talk about, it was a series of platforms that emerged from the depths of the sea, she couldn't have recognized them but the structures were close to those used in petrol platforms, immense metal constructions that impose their dominion over the sea, all of them got impressive defenses and they were protected at all times by several fleet girls. She saw them at the distance and just as they appeared, they vanished from her sight as she continually got far away. She read the report and took some time to look at the pictures again, as it showed off different places. Destroyed buildings and rubbish everywhere, desolation and misery captured in a single moment.

Hours passed and it was getting pretty late, in the distance the sun was about to set. She took out the map and realized how far this place actually was, even at full speed, so she reconsiders her position and the time it took her to reach that place, and estimated that she will still need at least twenty more hours to reach her destination. The distance was vast enough for a single ship, even so thanks to her new human body, she was faster than she ever was supposed to be, the small propellers got enough strength to travel large distances, but it was right there when Graf realized that her new outfit actually was feeding off her own energy. It was a weird sensation, for each mile that she travels her own strength diminish by a portion, it was a small part, but still she could not reach the base without replenishing at least once, luckily the old man also prevented this and marked an atoll near the Marshall Islands, within the Micronesian federation. They would be waiting for her, and from there she would continue her travel northwest until she reached the main European base, but for that it could still took some hours, so she got time to experience the sensations of her travel, and also use this last minutes of light to finish reading the war report.

It appears that by the end of the first month of struggle, at least three different types of this new species were identified. Mankind then, prepared their forces to fight against these terrible new foes, all nations ceased their conflicts and for once, everyone agreed to forge an alliance between all power nations, in order to strike against a different set of locations all over the Pacific Ocean. Using satellite technology, many of these submarine bases were found and when all preparations were made, a full scale counterattack was deployed. The media called them _"humanity greatest army"_ , mankind best hope and some other inspiring names. It was August 18th when the first battle was fought, warships from all over the countries were used, equipped with some of the latest technology and bigger rounds than those of the enemy, also the best fighter aces fly over the sky to secure the first lines and to keep the enemy distracted. This was the first defeat of the abyssal army, their now called destroyers, were not equipped with anti-air guns, so most of them were easy targets for the jet fighters. Even if their numbers were outstanding, most of them were blown to pieces with this unified effort, a fierce battle waged upon the surface. At the depths of the ocean, however a pack of submarines tried to destroy the enemy nest once and for all, however they didn't make it in time. All submarines were wrecked during that battle by some unknown underwater force, so all those brave soldiers died without revealing the enemy´s true form. Even if the surface was conquered, a few of the deep charges made all their way into the ocean floor, but even if little was damage was done, it stopped the arrival of new enemies.

The Russian faction anticipated the submarine failure and launch missiles that could travel underwater, leading to the destruction of two of these enemy lairs. It was a global celebration, however mankind´s victory against the abyssal army would be short indeed, because three days later, a new types of species appeared, some look like abominations made from human remains fused with weapons, cold and lethal monsters that prove to be stronger and faster than the first ones. Even if mankind won again, it did suffer losses, including helicopters and some jet fighters, that fall to the ocean when a barrage of bullets reach them.

Mankind should never underestimate other species, no matter how small or how weak they may look like. With two awesome victories, the allied forces believed that they were now stronger and greater than the abyssal army, even if new monsters appeared, they would defeat them and claim the ocean again. But reality can hit harder and leave a big scar to remember your failures. A new type of abyssal appeared on September 7th, one that would lean the scale in favor of the abyssal army once again; an aberration that emerged from the bottom of the seas, it was then when humanity learned that they were not fighting against a common enemy, instead they were fighting against an evolving and intelligent one.

On that fearful evening the entire world learned about the adaptability of the depth monsters and how fast they can change their tactics. As this new type of enemy approached the front lines, they released a new kind of weapon from within themselves, airborne fiends that ultimately destroyed the Russian and Chinese air force, and the American and the European a few days later. Small and fast, these new demons look like a severed human heads, propelled by a pair of small wings, armed with a heavy machinegun and powerful bombs or torpedoes. The dogfights were intense, furious battles that left only one winner, the smaller and faster fighters proved to be more capable than the real jets. Even fighter aces couldn't hit such small target and inevitably fall into the ocean after being shot down. Tragedy returned once again, as the coalition army suffered a mayor loss and was forced to retreat, everyone blamed each other strategies and the first alliance between power nations was disbanded, all the world spiraled into chaos once again and it felt that only a miracle could save humanity from extinction.

Graf finished the report, even if some things were strange enough to her, she tried her best to assimilate them, all the history of the recent war was something she can hardly imagine. Like that she remained in silence while she traveled for a few more hours, thinking and trying to understand her own position in this world. It was difficult to tie together all this elusive ideas, this new era and the enemy they were fighting, after all she was a weapon, a ship that returned into this world to fight eldritch monsters. The German carrier was close to reach her first stop, as the map was easy to understand, even if she never sails the Pacific, as a ship she could understand it, somehow she knew this information already as if some of her memories help her with the task. The sea closed as a series of islands appeared in the distance, some large and some small, many of them were hard to distinguish in the night, but she was used to this somehow, and she could not lose her way in the darkness. She then saw dim lights, first as small pecks of white that sparkled silently above the water, but then as the distance diminished, she realized that the place was big enough, as it seems that several adaptations were made and the size of the base was increased.

The atoll was expanded thanks to the efforts of the American workers, that traveled so far into the ocean, and helped out with this new kind of base. This was also an improvised base, mostly because the United States lost control of Hawaii a month ago, and all their power in the Pacific was disseminated across different bases, yet this proved to be the best solution, because instead of centralizing their power in one place, they split into all the navy coalition bases. An idea that serve its purpose, as the mix between all the allied forces was a success, the different types of fleet girls and their nationalities, were used to spread the power, while it also maintains order between the power nations. The initiative was called _"Mixed power and balance strategy_ " and was started by the United States President, and he called the other nation leaders to do the same. The whole idea was simple, all the allied bases in the Pacific should have at least one fleet girl of other nations at all times, this would help to strengthen the bond between the allies and also help to coordinate the bases and their strategies; even if at first was a good idea, it all was to watch over the entirety of the allied fleet. It was a large army spread across the largest ocean, and while the fleet girls are supposed to be weapons, they got human conscience and rationality, so they need to be controlled at some point. In order to keep the enemy contained within the Pacific Ocean, the entire allied fleet, composed by America, The Russian Federation, the European Union (mainly Germany, Britain, France and Italy), the Republic of China, Japan and the newly forged South-American coalition (which members are Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Brazil) would divide each a portion of the sea, and they would defend it and push the enemy while they can. That´s the main reason that each allied country still have their own ranks, but only their respective Admirals would be in charge of a base, while they also retain one Marshal Admiral per allied member, that would coordinate the entirety of their fleets. A slow strategy, but a safer one, as the enemy resources are unknown but their number keep on the rise, being this the main reason why there were so many bases across the Pacific, even if some were improvised.

As Graf got close to the base, a figure appeared moving fast to her position, it was an imposing aura, a woman was approaching, another fleet girl was coming right away. A pretty chick with golden hair and a blue and white sailor suit, together with a navy hat with an eagle as a symbol, also got a black and yellow cape decorated with stars and medals, she was a little taller than Graf, but her body measurements were pretty similar. The greatest hero of the American fleet was in front of her, the girl that guards the Marshall base and the one that keeps the abyssal at bay in that area, for they have learned to fear her, even if the American armies are scattered all across the Pacific, this base was protected by no other than The Grey Ghost.

"Hello, you must be Graf Zeppelin. I got to admit, you look quite impressive for a German ship. I was expecting you as we received a message about your arrival," the woman salutes her fellow fleet girl "USS Enterprise, it´s a pleasure" she extends her hand and smiles, the woman was carrying a different outfit and Graf realized this as she took her hand and shake it.

"The pleasure is mine, I´m on my way to the European main base and I wanted to resupply here" at her back was her entire flight deck, almost as tall as her, with the letters "EN" at each side. Her looks were imposing and her power could be easily felt, she was strong indeed.

"Alright follow me" Enterprise replied and she lead the way to the base, or at least the harbor where a big wooden box was floating around. "I think you can carry this on you outfit" she grabbed the container and gave it to Graf, it wasn't heavy as inside were some underway replenishment, or in this case, just food, canned rations especially made for their travels. "My guess is that you are not stopping here for more time than needed right? I can offer you a warm bed for you to rest if you are tired" the heroic carrier wanted her to remain at that base, even for the day, after all it was still early in the morning and perhaps Graf was tired of her long journey.

"You are right; I was transferred today but I want to reach my destination as fast as I can, so I must decline your offer" Graf politely denied as she was in a hurry, even if she didn't know the place she was going, she already wanted to be there. "Thank you" She received the box with the combat rations and showed gratitude. She watched the food and already knew what it was and even felt its flavor in her tongue, it was weird, as if she got some previous knowledge she couldn't explain.

"Very well, you would have loved this base, but I guess you are needed at that hellish island" Enterprise was not disappointed, as she already knew that the European base was home of many fleet girls, and while it got a doubtful reputation, it was still recognized as one of the best bases to be sent to. She already heard about the place before, and even was invited at some point, but since then she heard some weird rumors about it.

"What do you mean?" Graf asked right away, she was new to the era and to all bases, but she was concerned about her words. Even so she imagined that it was some kind of mistake, perhaps she didn't understand the term " _hellish_ ".

"Nothing really, some people around here don't like that place, that's all" the American carrier explained, she didn't mean to call that place like that, even when she saw it, she imagined that it was the best military base she ever saw, it was so pretty indeed that it didn't even look like an actual base. However even if every fleet girl that went to that base got the best impression of it, some workers and normal soldiers did not, even some of the officers, including her own Admiral didn't like it for some reason.

"I´m still required there, even if it's the worst place on earth" Graf corrected her own misconception, and reaffirmed her conviction to go there, after all she was needed by her Fleet admiral and nothing could stop her to comply with the order.

"Fine, but I´m coming with you. I´ll escort you until you are close to that base, you see the islands around here look all the same, and even with a map you can get lost easily, so I´ll help you out this time, alright?" Enterprise was concerned about her safety, after all she was a new summoned ship and her strength and skills are still hidden. While the day went pretty peaceful, two days ago a fleet of destroyers were sighted around the Marshall Islands so she could not leave her alone, even if she was tired of being awake at his hour.

"Thanks, I´m still getting used to this" Graf replied and followed Enterprise, she could admire her just by looking at how easily she rides the waves. There was a lot of things that the German girl would need to learn before she could compete with The Grey Ghost, but she would try her best to be on the same level. Right then she remembered the last fragment of the war report and how it relates with her own existence.

The morning of September 25th, the city of Tokyo was about to be devastated in a surprise attack, once again launched by the abyssal army. In days of need, people appeal to higher beings and put all their faith on them, every human needs to believe on something, an idea or a god, greater than him, and if many people believe in the same idea, unexplainable events tend to occur. As the city was sieged by a constant burst of bullets, a ray of light came down from heavens, it was the people´s prayers that create the supernatural phenomenon, one that was later known by the Japanese as the first summoning. Numerous witnesses tell the same story, about the black haired woman that appeared from the light and defeated the monsters that were attacking the city with her bare hands. In an era, full of technology and progress, people talk more to their cellphones than to their families, a century where humanity solved many of their problems with their creative inventions; a miracle showed how little we really know about the world we live in. The first phenomenon described as summoning happened that day and from then, humanity have changed the way naval battles are done. Because that day the first warship soul materialized into this dimension, a human was born with the strength to fight the abyssal, a long lost ship returned to save us.

Both fleet girls were going quite fast, the ocean was all around them and only the clouds above their heads remembered them which one was the sky. Almost twelve hours passed and while the journey was peaceful, sometimes Enterprise felt at some point that something was about to pop out of the water, however nothing happened. Even if the journey was mostly silent both girls exchanged some words, more the American carrier, as she got the most experience she talked a lot of her battles and how many enemies she defeated until that day.

"Graf, this is the part where I stop and say goodbye," Enterprise suddenly halted "The island is right ahead; you can see it from here, I can go together with you but I think there are some girls around there that would not be happy to see me, so I will return now as this is already a safe area and I should not leave the atoll for so long" she remained in place, she was sure that those waters were safe, and they even were noticed by the island´s defense radar.

"Thanks for escorting me, I´m in debt with you" Graf took the empty box and returned it to Enterprise, they both eat a while ago, and while it helped her to recover her strength, she was happy she didn't get to eat it all alone in the middle of the night.

"Don´t worry about it, just be careful out there so we can see each other again someday" Enterprise was happy that she met another carrier, especially the German one, as she was kind of special. But she was not sure of how long will it takes to see her again, unless she got transferred to the same island for some reason, it would take some time.

"Someday we will, Enterprise" Graf smiled, she felt good at that moment, even if they only shared that journey together.

"Very well Graf, I´ll be going, if you need anything you know where to find me" at that moment The Grey Ghost turned back and started her way back to the Marshall Islands. She could imagine many things, about the event that will come, and the battles that are waiting for her, but knowing that she got another ally in that island was good enough for her to leave with a smile on her way back.

The blonde was again alone and the island appeared in the distance as a mirage, some sort of illusion that only the mad could think of. However, it was not strange at first sight, tall mountains rise from one side while the other was covered with a dense forest, while all its perimeter was defended by natural cliffs that made it difficult to reach. But for some reason a lot of people felt that something was off when they first saw it, as if there was some unnatural energy flowing from the inside, most only felt it but some were sure they saw something that looked like a cloud appearing from the middle of the island, but it was attributed to their tiredness.

When Graf saw the place she felt some unnerving sensation, as if something was pulsing inside her brain and that she didn't like after a few minutes later, as it she didn't like the idea of going there, but it lasted for a second or at least that was she felt. She was traveling slower now, as if somehow she believed in Enterprise´s words, that the place was something that some people didn't like, and perhaps it affected her. Her innocent mind could not imagine what was watching her, even if the sea around the island was always peaceful and calm, something was always watching, something that lurks below the surface. Sometimes that something dropped what he was eating, perhaps it didn't like the taste of human kind, or maybe it did like the idea of feed the fishes around these waters, but that day while Graf was sliding she saw it.

Graf Zeppelin was three kilometers away from the island reach, she turned on the right direction while she was looking for the base, when she saw something floating in the water. Even if the climate condition wasn't the best, as clouds covered the sky for some time, she distinguished a lump in the surface of the clean water, something that didn't felt quite right. It was covered in wounds and its skin was exposed, but still got some clothes one, teared pieces that remained attached to some parts of the body, perhaps it was a state of decay in which the corpse was already devoid of blood, but its tissue still got some color. The German carrier stopped immediately, not believing what she was seeing, as the body was floating backwards, she identified that it was a male, while its clothes were tore and his guts were not in its place, she realized that this body didn't got too many days at the sea.

Graf started to breath faster and step back when the stiff body started to move, with small spasms that agitate the water. It was something different entirely and Graf was no longer comfortable with this sight, and look away trying to find something else, perhaps another corpse was floating around… and yet when she returned to see the dead body it already disappeared. How long could it take for it to disappear on his own, nothing remained actually, as if it didn't exist in the first place.

"What was that..." Graf said to herself, imagining things was something she didn't experience until now, a delusion perhaps of her own suggestion" I just imagine it, there is nothing here" she thought about her condition, a long trip that took almost a day to complete, must have took her toll now, before she reached her destination, because there are no bodies floating around in the ocean, but why did she imagined such a terrible scene if she wasn't prepared for that.

"Being alive is… strange" she remembers things from her past and her own journey, perhaps her memories were scrambled again and only appeared when she saw something specific, she did was created in times of war, it was of no surprise to saw dead bodies floating around the surface after a big battle was done, maybe even more that she could have imagined, but why does that memory came exactly there and not some other time. Graf tried to remain calm, and think with her brain and not let this new emotion overwhelm her, this thing called fear.


End file.
